Edmonton-Calgary trivia rivalry continues
Edmonton and Calgary have been rivals for decades, but for the past three years this rivalry between Edmonton First Mennonite and Foothills Mennonite in Calgary has been for a good cause: raising money for Camp Valaqua with a trivia night. The last two years involved live streaming between multiple Edmonton and Calgary locations. Edmonton First…
Final results of MC Alberta’s Vision 20/20 process revealed
Like all Mennonite Church Canada regional churches, MC Alberta continues to pray and discern God’s call, moving forward after the nationwide restructuring a couple years ago. Representatives from across the province met at First Mennonite Church in Calgary on Nov. 1 and 2 to hear the final results of the four-phase discernment process called Vision…
A journey from fundamentalism to freedom
Donna Dinsmore never felt she fit into church life. “I wanted to serve in the church and I loved God, but I didn’t feel called to work with small children and I didn’t make casseroles,” she says. “Becoming an adult single woman in the church was difficult. I was a third-class citizen. Women were treated…
‘Won’t you be my neighbour?’
Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers asked the question, “Won’t you be my neighbour?” every day for almost 40 years on Mr. Roger’s Neighbourhood. In the 2018 documentary of his life, Rogers says that asking this question is “an invitation for someone to be close to you.” Five years ago, Foothills Mennonite Church drew close to the Calgary…
‘Working at home is over-rated’
After years of dreaming of a Mennonite hub in Edmonton, it finally came to pass. Mennonite organizations that were formerly in basements, spare rooms and kitchens have come together to share space at the invitation of Mennonite Mutual Insurance (MMI). MMI, an Alberta-based insurance company that officially formed in 1960 to meet the needs of…
My day on the Walk for Common Ground
The image on the Treaty 6 flag is striking. The crest shows a European and Indigenous leader engaged in a never-ending handshake, a longstanding and well-understood symbol of mutual agreement. The edge of the crest is lined with words that testify to the longevity of this agreement: “As long as the sun shines… And the rivers…
The women of Alberta rediscover Mary
“We grew up never talking about Mary. It was like the Catholics got Mary in the divorce settlement and Mennonites got a 30-minute sermon,” said Irma Fast Dueck in her opening talk at the annual Mennonite Church Alberta women’s retreat held from June 7 to 9 at the Sunnyside Retreat Centre in Sylvan Lake. “It…
Dreaming of possibilities
As we explore new possibilities in our journey with a new church structure, the Mission and Service Committee of Mennonite Church Alberta has been dreaming about possibilities in a variety of areas. Some of these dreams will remain dreams, while others, hopefully, will come to fruition. Our most significant Mission and Service program in Alberta…
‘Opening to God’s leading’
In opening comments at Mennonite Church Alberta’s first of three Vision 2020 gatherings, Tim Wiebe-Neufeld, the regional church’s executive minister, asked people in the crowd to stand if they had left their place of birth in search of new life and opportunities. A few stood, and the crowd was aware that this is the situation…
What did I get myself into?
Swirling around with ideas of strategy, focus, and “We used to do it this way,” change is messy. Grappling with the in-between is messy. Living in the liminal space between what was and what will be is messy, yet here we are, wondering, “What did I get myself into?” In acting, “being in the moment”…